


ARCANA

by CodeBreaker



Series: THE DIRECTIONS OF ABSTRACT COLOURS [1]
Category: ONF (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe (Alien Series), Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe Powers, Flowers, Platonic Soulmates, Tarot Challenge, a series of shorts, some telepathy type shit, soulmates but you hear everything the other person thinks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25120534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodeBreaker/pseuds/CodeBreaker
Summary: it's all in the heart of the cards
Series: THE DIRECTIONS OF ABSTRACT COLOURS [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823824
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. ACE OF CUPS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **the ace of cups**  
>  there is love in all things; your heart is yours alone to give

_( **we must love** : the ace of cups represents a deep love, whether it be platonic or romantic, you are overflowing with love )_

* * *

For most people, they don't start hearing their soulmates until they turn 16. 

Hyojin wasn't most people. Neither was Seungjoon, apparently. 

They had started hearing each other's thoughts for months before they actually met in middle school. It was funny, Hyojin remembered they spent weeks trying to pinpoint each other's location, only to miss the other by mere minutes. It wasn't until the second semester after they started hearing each other that they met each other in a class they shared. 

Needless to say, the rest of their school lives were spent in desperate attempts to get test answers from the other (you would think they'd have rules against this but what the teachers didn't know couldn't hurt anyone, right?). Hyojin couldn't count how many times they kept each other up at night when they couldn't sleep, nor could he tell anyone just how many times he had to keep himself from laughing when Seungjoon would think of some ridiculously bad joke to get a reaction out of him in a situation that required the utmost seriousness.

They had thought that it was the end of it and they would be stuck with only each other for the rest of their lives.

How wrong they were.

They met Jaeyoung in their senior year in gym class. Or at least Seungjoon did, Hyojin couldn't remember the details quite clearly anymore. Knowing them as well as he does now, he wouldn't put it past either for it to have involved getting injured. 

It likely would've explained Seungjoon's sprained ankle, he supposed. 

Jaeyoung was another piece to their puzzle and neither could complain; his presence was welcome. At times, he was a good contrast to the pair, between exasperated sighs at their late-night conversations and consistently asking to make sure they were doing okay no matter how far apart they were, Hyojin surely couldn't find even a single reason to not love him.

They met Changyoon and Minkyun at the same time, in a whirlwind of chaos and laughter, long after they graduated high school. They came into their lives, all smiles, and bright-eyed wonder. It was Jaeyoung who met Minkyun first, and Hyojin was almost sure it involved one of them getting drunk, though he couldn't be certain. It was almost always an adventure with them around and really, none of them could say no to the pair suggesting wild ideas for all sorts of adventures. 

Minkyun was almost all laughter, bright and warm as the sun itself. Hyojin could almost swear that he lived to get on the other's nerves most days, pushing buttons and seeing just how far he could push his luck. But he was as caring as he was bright, it was like he always knew just where to stop before he crossed a line. Not that he would ever get anywhere near crossing any, Hyojin had figured. 

Changyoon was very much the same most days. Cracking jokes in the dead of night, almost as if they weren't supposed to be sleeping. But as much energy, as he had most days, even he had his quiet days, as they all did. 

The first day Hyojin heard either of them in his head, it was a myriad of sounds; laughter and something much more chaotic than he was previously used to. But that didn't mean that they were as thoughtful as they were energetic, ever the moodmakers they are. There was never a dull moment with all five of them in the picture now. If one of them had a bad day, they had someone to go to, someone to fall back to and talk to. 

They knew they had each other's backs, no matter what (cheesy, Hyojin knows but he's okay with that, especially if the others are involved).

Yuto came into their life a few months after Minkyun and Changyoon did. Hyojin could remember hearing his voice in his head for the first time. It was at the coffee shop they frequented. If he could remember the details correctly, it involved Minkyun walking into him because neither were really looking where they were going. Yuto was the youngest of the six of them, and he was a welcome addition to the group. 

He acted very much like their anchor, both choosing not to tolerate their antics but also telling them exactly what they needed to hear. He balanced the group out very well, he had a sort of calmer energy than the rest of them and yet, kept up with their antics well. He played along with them, humored them when they started cracking jokes or making a bit to see how many they can get laughing. 

It was funny how years ago, he never would've thought that he could be sitting in the same room as the five people who've managed to steal away pieces of his heart in a way that he could've ever predicted. It was a gentle type of love, ran deeper than the ocean, and further than the eye can see. To give them the world would never be enough, giving them the world a hundred times over still would never be enough. 

He couldn't say he wanted to believe in a predestined path. There is no end planned for them, for anyone. The only thing planned is death but if destiny is real, it isn't as unchangeable as people make it to be. If it were meant to be, he was glad it was them. He was glad destiny brought them together.

If this is fate, Hyojin could only hope that this could last their whole lifetime and hoped it would carry on into their next lives, and every one after that.

* * *

_( we found each other like destiny )_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gosh I hope I'm doing this right 
> 
> (I hope you guys liked this :D see you guys again soon)


	2. WHEN THE WOODS FALL SILENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>  _for those who have lived through chaos and came out the other end still alive_   
> 

_the **TOWER** represents a massive change, upheaval, destruction, chaos, transformations, and awakening._

* * *

"How do we keep getting into these situations?"

Seungjoon and Hyojin currently stood next to each other in their living room, staring at Minkyun coo over the baby dragon that was fast asleep on their couch. 

"Eleven years of friendship and I still don't know."

Their place was small, and even more so when all of them were there at once. Which was rare; the six of them rarely ever got the time to themselves together. Hyojin and Seungjoon saw each other the most, one part of the Royal Guard and the other the militia's best combat medic. Minkyun, the only other person at home right now, was often found up in the Celestial Halls, as he was their resident mage.

He was also usually the one bringing home stray animals.

Which was why it surprised everyone when it was Seungjoon who walked in with a baby dragon. It was no bigger than maybe a large cat, or perhaps a small dog. Its proportions were a little off, its wings much too big for its body. Its scales were chromatic, if Hyojin had to describe it, it shifted from emerald green to a sapphire blue under the light. 

Now, he was no dragon expert by any means but he knew enough to tell anyone that this was likely a drake; which meant it was much bigger than it's wyvern cousins. 

"Where did you even find it, anyway? And what possessed you to think to bring it home?"

Seungjoon grinned at him with all the same wild abandon that he often donned on the battlefield. That look only further stressed him out.

"Oh come on, Hyojinnie, it's a dragon. Having a pet dragon would be the coolest thing." He paused in his animated explaining to glance over at the dragon, now awake and clambering onto Minkyun's lap. "Besides, it's cute. You expected me to say no to _that?_ "

He wasn't going to argue with that, no matter how much he wanted to. He had opened his mouth to argue, if only out of habit, however. Sighing, he turned to Seungjoon, throwing a half-hearted glare he knew wouldn't work his way. 

"Tch, I wasn't gonna say no anyway." He had said.

' _But I know that feeling well, I could never say no to you either._ '

* * *

"Literally everything about this is illegal."

It had already been dark out when Minkyun decided it was a good idea to try out a summoning spell in the middle of the woods surrounding the capital city. 

"It's only illegal if we get caught."

Now, it wasn't Minkyun's antics with trying to summon things in the middle of the woods that worried him. Hyojin trusted him enough to have it under control (and he knew Minkyun couldn't summon anything more harmful than maybe a whisp). 

What he had been worried about was what lurked in the woods after the sun went down. Most of the more opportunistic carnivores were nocturnal; most of which were more than likely to try and kill them. Now, he didn't doubt any of them for a second. Hyojin knew them all fairly well, he thought. He was sure they could all handle themselves in a fight, one way or the other.

They had stopped at some point in a small clearing, lit only by the moon's gentle light. It was quiet.

Almost too-

"Guys, do you hear anything?"

They all paused and turned to look at him, most of which were in confusion. Yuto was the first to realize what he had been talking about.

"You know what they say about when the woods fall silent right?"

The sense of realization lasted mere seconds before it melted into a sense of dread, one that hung heavy over all of them. The only thing more dangerous than the woods falling silent is whatever scared everything off to cause the silence in the first place. Quiet wasn't a strange concept to these woods, especially after dark, but when even the nightlife fall silent, it becomes a cause for concern.

The next few moments were chaotic, a whirlwind of something he couldn't quite readily keep up with.

He saw the blur of what he could only guess to be a creature. Hyojin couldn't get much of a glimpse of whatever it could've been before something slammed into him from behind him, effectively knocking the air out of his lungs. The world spun and blurred, he barely registered the impact with the ground, hadn't realized he had even hit the ground until his vision came to again.

His gaze swept the clearing, though he only caught glimpses of the others. 

An orchestra of screeching erupted for no more than a few seconds before it abruptly stopped. It fell silent again and Hyojin wasn't entirely sure why until he saw it.

On the other side of the clearing, one of the others laid on the ground, and from what he could see, he was sure that they were either out cold or couldn't move. Either way, he almost immediately knew why as he shifted his gaze up just a bit.

Sat on top was a shade; a human-sized wyvern that could almost perfectly shapeshift. Strictly nocturnal, he remembers being told, super aggressive and opportunistic carnivores, the only way you could tell the difference between a shade and a person was the colour of their eyes. Shades couldn't mimic eyes, theirs were always nearly neon bright, almost glowing.

It took him looking around again to realize the one on the ground was Seungjoon; how that had happened was beyond him but he didn't care about that so much. 

He started to get up, wanted to. But as soon as he tried, a weight landed on his back, keeping him on the ground. The next few moments seemed to move so slow as Jaeyoung and Changyoon moved one way to help him, while Yuto and Minkyun moved the other way to help Seungjoon.

If Hyojin were being honest, he couldn't remember exactly what happened next. It felt like it had happened faster than he could blink, though he figured half of it was him just blocking it out from his memories. He vaguely remembered seeing a bright flash; was it light or fire? He couldn't quite tell the difference from the angle he had been watching from. He remembered more screeching.

Then he remembered the silence.

Then nothing. Nothing at all.

* * *

_( a scar means you survived but some scars never heal quite right )_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohmygod two chapters in a row? unheard of!
> 
> anyway, as you can see, there is no real cohesive plot  
> this is really a series of shorts but if there's any you guys want me to expand upon and perhaps give it a whole fic around it, then tell me :D
> 
> also, I did not intend for this chapter to go the way it did but it's like writing takes a mind of its own when you start so it got,,,,,,angsty?
> 
> so uh, I hope you liked this and I'll see you around :D


	3. STRENGTH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **EVOL GENE:** a mutation in the human genome that allows people to access powers that were once limited to fiction; most are dormant and the cause behind the activation of this gene is currently a mystery.

_the **STRENGTH** card represents strength, determination, and power_

* * *

"Where are you going?" 

Minkyun stopped short of stepping out of the room. He threw a look over his shoulder, half a smirk, and all snark.

"To hell, probably."

If you had asked him a few years ago, he would never have been able to tell you that he would have powers. He never would've been able to tell you that the day his EVOL gene activated, he accidentally took out the power in at least half the city and blew up a power station. He probably wouldn't have guessed to be thrown into a training program, or meet his roommates who were as confused about all of this as he was.

"I wouldn't put it past you. Save a spot for me while you're there."

Changyoon was the first of his roommates he had met when he got here and it wasn't even in their room. It was the first day he was here and the first training session he had been a part of. They were assigned into groups just because of the sheer number of trainees they had. Changyoon was a psionic, that is his abilities were mental in nature; telepathy, telekinesis, the whole thing. Minkyun could vividly remember how he almost blasted him with lightning during their first practice.

Needless to say, he's gotten better at controlling his powers. That, and he's gotten a better aim now, too.

Yuto, he met after. Yuto was assigned to a different group and his training took him to a different part of the grounds. He had sonokinetic abilities, that is, he has sound abilities. Which meant he had super-hearing, meaning no secrets could be kept from him if he were around. 

Thinking about it, Minkyun couldn't keep any secrets from either of his roommates. 

Not that he has anything to hide, anyway.

Realistically, he wanted to get out of the room to take a walk. Specifically to the simroom. One would think they would limit trainee access to a lot of places but they had full access to all the training rooms, the regular one where they met up and the simrooms, a room that uses hyperrealistic virtual reality that they could use to simulate missions and real-life situations, or whatever they wanted; the only limit was really their own imagination.

There was something he wanted to try out for himself.

* * *

_Welcome to the WASP unit_

Minkyun and Changyoon had been assigned to one of the special ops unit together. They had both passed the unit's assessment, and the captain seemed impressed enough by them. Yuto had also passed the assessment but was assigned as a rotational agent for the unit. From what Minkyun understood, rotational agents are on more than one unit and usually spend more time with one than the other. He had been assigned to the Psionics unit, as well.

This didn't surprise him either.

"I'm assigning you both to the first squad for this mission." Their captain didn't look up at them, her eyes sweeping across the hologram of the blueprints, "You know what the plan is, right?"

"Yeah." He responded, almost immediately. Changyoon gave him a look, probably knowing full well he likely hadn't been paying the least bit of attention. She only nodded slowly at him, only now looking up at him, giving him an incredulous look while she did.

"Alright, sure. Alex will brief you when you get to your location, anyway."

It was a rescue mission of sorts; not quite a hostage situation, something more akin to a prisoner type deal. Or at least, that's what the gist of what he had picked up. 

The meeting broke and they were told they'd meet again when they all get there. They would all arrive at different times but not so wildly far behind each other, one after the other. Changyoon followed him out, but he knew the look that was being thrown his way. His expression might have been somewhere between concerned and confused, but they both knew that he could pry if he really wanted answers.

The perks of being a psionic, he guessed.

"Hey, I know you got the attention span of the roadrunner on crack, but this is weird even for you." He finally spoke up, picking up his pace so that they walked alongside each other, "What's your deal today?"

He didn't know. Minkyun wasn't entirely certain as to what was eating at him today. He never really knew.

"I dunno." 

They exited the building and into the hangar. The rest of the team was already waiting for them.

"Well, hopefully this doesn't stop you from being able to do your job. Would hate for you to get hurt."

* * *

It was in the streaks of lightning that burned bright while they arced in circles around him.

It was in the loud crackles of energy that escaped his fingertips whenever he released the energy.

It was in Changyoon's voice when he teased him; affectionately nicknaming him Thor or Zeus, and in Yuto's when he told them they were being ridiculous while they bickered about anything and everything.

It was in bruised knuckles and deep gashes, a result of a long sparring session and two boys who got way into it, doing more damage than they had intended to.

Minkyun was impulsive some days, more reckless other days but in the heat of battle and under pressure, you don't think right. You tunnel vision, hyperfocus. A battlefield littered with creatures, some more amorphous blobs of shadow than anything that resembled anything he could identify. 

The constant buzz of electricity and the sparks falling off his fingertips were the only thing keeping them at bay; the shadow creatures had always hesitated to approach him. Behind him, Nathan kneeled on the ground, eyes blazing in shades of purple and pink, keeping up the barrier that kept anything from approaching them. Behind him was Corrine, leaning over Changyoon and Yuto. Yuto was the only one who was still conscious.

Shadows and demons; they faced creatures born of nightmares and all the things that haunted the darkest corners of people's minds. 

Fights were a blur, always. Moving fast, a hurricane around him that he could only barely keep up with. Reflexes were automatic, ducking under the claws of a shadow creature then bringing up his hand to spear a lightning bolt through its chest. He spun. Lightning arced in all directions, blasting the creatures in his immediate vicinity to dust. 

In the heat of battle, the only thing he really cared about protecting the people who stood behind him.

* * *

"Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

The infirmary was almost always busy, people coming in and out. Too many people getting injured and not nearly enough healers.

"You know what I'm talking about."

A few gashes in his abdomen; bandaged up now and barely even hurt. 

The memory of it came back in flashes. Patrol duty, they had been assigned patrol duty that day. Neither minded; it was a mindless job after a slew of missions that took a lot out of them. He remembered the shadow creatures that formed from the shadows between the cracks in the sidewalk. He remembered bright flashes; a result of his own powers, no doubt. He remembered very few things very vividly, but he did remember the shadow that leaped at Changyoon; it was feline looking but he couldn't be sure anymore.

"I wasn't thinking."

Changyoon snorted, leaning back in the chair.

"Clearly not." The pause in conversation was enough to notice the worried glint in his eyes, "Thanks, though. Next time, I think we can avoid the stress by doing anything but almost getting yourself killed."

Minkyun would've laughed if it didn't hurt to.

"Yeah, noted."

But they both knew that he would do it again. He'd do it again and again; he was okay with it as long as at least one of them came out the other side safe.

* * *

_( give me your 'I came close' and I'll give you mine )_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes, powers au that's kind of a mash between the world I made for another story and bnha kinda
> 
> this one felt a lil all over the place but only bc it was and I didn't really have a direction for this one  
> this also just felt a lil info dumpy, but ah well


	4. THE MOON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in the light of the moon, the wolves will always call back

_**i**_. _what is in BLACK & WHITE_

* * *

The rainbow was something that was taught to every kid growing up. None of them knew exactly what colour was which, not many of them cared either.

There was a rare, very lucky few who met their soulmates young and knew what these meant, what they looked like. They were the lucky ones. At least that's what all the adults said. 

Yuto didn't care very much for any of it. The idea of meeting your soulmate and having colour explode into your life was an almost magical concept. But he had other things he was more interested in at 5 years old: playing in the sandpit, seeing who can reach the swings first, who can run the fastest, who had the coolest toys, and cartoons on Saturday morning.

At 5 years old, Yuto was much more worried about his teddy bear falling off the bed in the middle of the night. He was worried about the monster that lived in his closet, and the one that hid under his bed. He was more concerned about what game to play next or who to befriend. There were corners of his backyard he still needed to explore and cute puppies to pet, kittens to become friends with.

At 5 years old, he couldn't care less about meeting his soulmate. He had a whole lifetime to do that and he would've been okay with never meeting them at all if that was what ended up happening. 

But what he didn't know was that he would have more than one.

* * *

_**ii.** everything was **RED**_

* * *

"Do you know why the sun sets red?"

Yuto remembers the way Jaeyoung had asked him that; softly, quietly. Full of remembering things that likely hurt too much to say out loud. They sat on the roof, something that always stressed Hyojin out, though he had long given up trying to stop them from climbing their way up.

"Why?"

The sunset in shades of gold and orange; the sky set on fire by the sun diving below the horizon.

"Of all the colours, red travels the furthest."

Red; the first colour of the rainbow. The first to have entered his life.

Red was the colour Jaeyoung brought into his life; in a blaze of excitement and laughter. Red was the colour of the roses that was left by his bedside on Valentine's day, it was the colour of the peppers that Changyoon choked on because of a dare. Red was the colour of blood when one of them accidentally hurts themselves. Red was a blaze of rebellion, of finding out things he didn't know he wanted to find out.

Red was the colour of apples, and strawberries, and raspberries, and cherries. All nearly as sweet as Jaeyoung, most days.

It was action and determination. It was the way Jaeyoung had pushed him to do things that he might never have done on his own. It was the colour of motivation, something that Yuto often saw in him; a motivation, a sort of drive to do better. 

Jaeyoung was red the same way it was passion, the same way it was defiance and bravery. He was red, the colour of the blanket that they got to replace the last one that was so old, it had several holes in it. He was red, the colour that his cheeks turned when it was too cold out. He was like fire, but in every way it wasn't. He wasn't scorching the way a fire burned. He was warm, like the flames that lit their fireplace after being outside in the snow for far too long.

Red was warm the same way he was. 

And Yuto loved him for it.

* * *

_**iii**. all the things we painted **ORANGE**_

* * *

"It's okay to make mistakes, ya know, you're only human."

Lee Changyoon was orange. He was fire but not like the red Jaeyoung had embodied. Changyoon was louder about it, most days. Bright and warm, he was enthusiastic in all the things he did. 

He was orange in the way embers leaped from a flame, moving upwards. He was sharp and witty, something Yuto quickly came to associate with the colour. 

Yuto could remember the moment they met, under the fluorescent light of a streetlight as the sun set. He could never think of sunsets again without thinking of Changyoon; he was what made up most of it.

He had his quiet days and even then, there was a specific kind of energy that only he had that even quieter days couldn't quite dull it. 

Orange was the colour they created after spilling paint all over the floor. Orange was the colour of the pillows on the couch, of which they often used to hit each other during games of Mario Kart. Orange was the colour of orange juice, Yuto could remember Changyoon drinking nearly half the carton knowing that it was going to expire the next day.

Meeting Changyoon almost immediately after meeting Jaeyoung was like setting his entire world on fire, in shades of orange and red. 

He was okay with burning if it meant being in their warmth.

* * *

_**iv**. sunshine in **YELLOW**_

* * *

"Hey, you think I can make this jump?" Yuto snorted at Minkyun's personal challenge, knowing that regardless of the answer, he'd try anyway.

They could only be grateful that this was only a video game he had been playing and not him trying to jump between buildings in real life.

Minkyun was as bright as the colour he had brought with him. He was sunshine incarnate; loud and bright, all smiles and laughter. He had the same energy as the golden retriever they had adopted a while ago; he was everywhere at once and it was contagious. Yuto had quickly discovered it was near impossible not to be happy when he was around.

He was like the bright yellow ball they threw around in the backyard for the dog and the bright yellow floaties in their pool. Quick and witty, Yuto found Minkyun and Changyoon to be two peas in a pod; always cracking jokes and bright laughter bouncing within the walls of their house.

Minkyun had a sort of confidence to him, the kind that was so uniquely him. He wasn't vocal about it, didn't wear it like armor the way some people do. It was loud enough for it to be noticed but it was never something that you would readily notice right away. Minkyun was sure of himself the way he was sure he loved them. 

Yuto was sure of him too, trusted him the way you would trust a warning label. He loved being around him the way a cat loved napping in the warmth of the sun. 

"Do it, you won't."

He knew full well that he would've taken the challenge. Minkyun was competitive that way, never one to turn down a challenge. 

Yuto adored him for it.

* * *

_**v**. growing in shades of **GREEN**_

* * *

"Hey, just because you got lucky that ONE time-"

Yuto watched as Hyojin and Seungjoon bickered about something or other, he hadn't paid nearly enough attention to quite catch what they had been arguing about.

"It wasn't luck, it was skill. It wasn't my fault you lost."

Hyojin was lucky, however, like four-leaf clovers were lucky. When Yuto met him, he brought green into his life. 

Yuto quickly found out why he was green; he was as lucky as he was smart. He had a sharp tongue, in a way that was different from perhaps Changyoon or Minkyun. He reminded Yuto of the smell of rain, or something that was mint flavoured. Not that he was cold, far from it. He took care of them well; green was not just the colour of four-leaf clovers but the colour of the bandaid he used to wrap around his finger when he accidentally cut it.

Green was the colour of the pack of candy that they bought on a whim, sour gummies that they had all but finished the same day they got it. It was the colour of the grass they played on in the backyard, and the subsequent stains on their clothes when they were done.

Hyojin was green, and it was fitting. Yuto could remember watching shows and playing games, the healer was usually associated with green, and now he knows why. He was as sharp as he was quick-witted, ever perceptive, and never failed to look out for them. Some days, it would feel like it didn't fit him, but he was always there and always willing to listen. 

He was the encouragement they needed when they were feeling burnt out, a welcome presence, and often joined in on some of their antics. Though he often questions them when they dare do something that could end in injury, they all know he'd still be there to catch them if something happened. Hyojin was reliable that way, he supposed.

If Hyojin was just lucky, then perhaps some of it rubbed off on Yuto; he never felt luckier to have someone like him in his life.

* * *

_**vi**. ocean **BLUE**_

* * *

Yuto met Seungjoon the same day he met Hyojin.

While blue wasn't always the colour he would've imagined Seungjoon would bring with him, he ultimately couldn't name a better colour to associate with him. 

Blue was like the sky and the ocean, with feelings that ran just as deep and just as infinite. Seungjoon felt, and he felt nearly as intensely as Jaeyoung did. Seungjoon was blue, the same way the flowers that grew by the window in their living room were blue; vibrant and ever so noticeable. He was blue the way he wasn't confrontational; as much as he was snarky, he never did it with the intention of starting a fight. To bicker as friends was one thing but Yuto couldn't imagine Seungjoon to be one to ever instigate a fight more serious in nature than that.

Blue was calm and emotional, something he quickly learned about Seungjoon. He was teasing, but he was observant, always so observant. He was perceptive and picked up what the others were feeling pretty accurately most of the time. Blue was the colour of the bracelets they got together, the beads in varying shades of the colour. Blue was the colour of the sky on a bright, sunny day. 

Seungjoon was like water, in the sense that he was so easy going and rarely ever got really angry; Yuto was convinced he couldn't hold a grudge for longer than an hour. His presence was as calm as the colour he brought with him, almost like a lullaby sang softly just as you're falling asleep. Blue was the colour of their bedroom walls, pastel in colour and a whole bother to have painted.

Yuto found that if he needed advice, his go-to would always be Hyojin or Seungjoon, both were ever so reliable and always the listener. 

Seungjoon had so easily earned his trust, and just as easily earned his love.

* * *

_( And it was in that moment that I decided I would follow you anywhere )_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soulmate au but with colours instead of telepathy :D


	5. DEATH

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _mother went into the forest once when she was younger, and grandmother swears it was someone else who walked out in her skin._

The forest was as scary as it was magical.

As a kid, Seungjoon had always been warned not to stay out too late, not to be out after dark.

What lurked in the dark was something that always piqued his curiosity but he knew better than to go wandering in. Especially alone, and especially after dark.

He heard of stories of creatures that were buggy and dead eyed, with too long limbs that were almost comically out of proportion with the rest of its body. He heard stories about ghost hikers that haunted the trails, all ranging from the faceless man to the wailing women by the river. He heard of the howling in the woods when there were no wolves known to live within the woods.

Seungjoon didn't need to see any of these for himself to believe them. He saw many strange things in those woods for himself. He remembered the night before Halloween. 

The house he lived in overlooked the woods but he never worried about anything wandering into the yard, the fence was high enough that most things would have a hard time getting over it. But that night before Halloween, he had opted to stay up, seeing as it was a Friday night and it hardly mattered that he had stayed up late.

It had only been pure chance that he had peered out the window when he did.

He had always wished he hadn't.

What he had seen was something that would've given him nightmares for years. It did give him nightmares; he still has the occasional nightmare about it to this day.

Pure chance. Yeah, alright, not entirely pure chance. Something had triggered the motion lights out in the backyard, and that was the only reason he peered out his window. What he saw was something that resembled a person. Resembled, but it wasn't a person. At least, that's what he had thought. This person was impossibly tall, he knew that much, but he wasn't able to tell just how tall because of the angle he was looking out from.

The person had impossibly bright red eyes and had no mouth. He was almost convinced that the unusually bright red in its eyes weren't actually eyes at all; perhaps it was just blood, but there was no way even blood could reflect light that brightly, no matter how bright the lights were. a

Seungjoon hadn't looked for much longer to figure out everything else, much too worried he'd been spotted than trying to figure out what this thing was.

Needless to say, he didn't sleep any that night. 

His parents, who had been downstairs, said they hadn't seen a thing when he asked the next morning, saying something about him seeing things or whatever.

The long scratches on the back door said otherwise.

The next time he saw anything would be on his eighteenth birthday, and this time he wasn't the only one. Hyojin and Jaeyoung had been over at his place when they heard the howling. But it echoed and sounded almost otherworldly.

It was the middle of the day when they first heard it, and it wouldn't have lasted more than a minute.

When they heard it again, it was louder and they were upstairs in his room. None of them missed the fog that clung to the treeline that night, nor did they miss the motion lights triggering. None of them dared look out the window, however tempting it may have been. They had heard all the stories, phantom dogs and hellhounds, vengeful spirits, and bloodthirsty creatures.

The ghostly howling went on all night.

When they went out the next day, the claw marks that marred the dirt in the front yard unnerved them. 

He had always considered himself to be lucky enough to never have been put in danger, lucky enough to have been close enough for something to kill him or worse but always able to avoid it. 

That didn't mean he never got extremely close. There were shadows that seemed much too alive in the corners of his house, writhing and breathing like any of them had life in them. Sometimes, he would peer out a window and saw eyes staring back at him, Other times, he heard footsteps only to have no one else in the house with him. He'd occasionally get phone calls only to pick up to a dead phone line.

But he was lucky.

Always lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the rest, and there really isn't an appearance from the others besides hyojin and jaeoung for a bit but hopefully that isn't too much of an issue. Really tried to go for a creepy vibe this chapter but idk if I executed it very well.
> 
> Also, the first chapter for fantasy au is up. It's p much a continuation of the second chapter on this fic. Hope you guys like that as much as you like this one.


	6. JUSTICE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _the **JUSTICE** card represents justice, fairness, truth, and cause & effect_  
> 

_**i. ad astra (to the stars)** _

* * *

Minkyun never thought of himself as easily intimidated. Far from it. 

The ship they had boarded was much larger than what any of them were used to, and much older. He could tell it's ran its course through several iterations, a chimeric contraption of old and new technology. But even then, the spacious corridors offered enough room for sounds to echo; that coupled with what Minkyun could only describe an echoing thump that carried through the ventilation system did not seem to chase away the idea that perhaps the ship may have been haunted.

No, Minkyun wasn't easily intimidated nor was he easily scared. But something about the ship gave him shivers every time he stepped out of his room to a completely empty and silent corridor. 

Voices carried through the pipes (or the vents, he wasn't entirely sure anymore), footsteps echoed; and while the power worked just fine, he could almost swear the lights flickered when he knew they shouldn't have. 

It became clear about a week into their journey that he was not the only one who thought that. Seungjun had jumped when Minkyun walked up behind him, though he had made no effort to be quiet. Minkyun knew he was the loudest of the crew when it came to doing anything, being as clumsy as he was. 

"Dude, don't sneak up on me like that." Seungjun had choked out before punching his shoulder. 

"Yeah, well, I wasn't trying to be sneaky. I dunno what to tell you." Minkyun replied between laughter. 

He had a similar incident with Changyoon later on. Except Changyoon nearly spilled his coffee everywhere. 

"You too, huh?" 

The look he got in response was enough to give him the answer.

* * *

_**ii. ex silentio (from silence)** _

* * *

It was difficult to keep track of time out in the middle of nowhere out in space; lightyears, weeks, months. Minkyun wasn't sure.

Nothing happened in the amount of time they had been out here. But there was a tangible tension in the air, a buzzing that Minkyun could only equate to the same type of paranoia you get alone in the dark. The same kind of buzzing that put you on edge during a scary movie.

It was almost as if they were all expecting something bad to happen.

But nothing ever did. Nothing happened and part of him wished something did. He wasn't entirely sure if Hyojin, Yuto, and Jaeyoung felt the same intensity that buzzed in the air but if they did, they didn't show it the way Changyoon, Seungjun, and himself did.

Sat in the main cockpit staring at the infinite darkness that the void offered them, sprinkled with the occasional star, he couldn't have felt tinier. They had passed at least one or two other ships but he didn't keep count of them. He vaguely remembered spotting a wreck at some point, though he largely ignored it, too caught up in his own thoughts to pay it much attention.

At some point, Minkyun heard the door open but didn't turn to see who had walked in. 

"You seem more on edge today than you usually are." Hyojin made his way around to check the camera feed. Minkyun just stared at his back for a few seconds before shrugging, though he knew the other couldn't see it anyway.

"Really? Is it that obvious?" 

There was only enough time for Hyojin to turn to look at him before an explosion went off on the far side of the ship. Everything lurched forward, sending them both flying towards the front of the ship. Lights flashed, he was vaguely aware of an alarm blaring over the sound of the automated voice over the comm system telling them something he couldn't quite make out.

Then the lights went out.

* * *

**_iii. aut cum scuto aut in scuto (do or die)_ **

* * *

The ringing in his ears was louder than the alarms around him. 

Minkyun was somewhat aware of a hand grabbing his arm, pulling him upwards to his feet. 

"C'mon, we gotta go." Hyojin's voice was muffled, sounded so far away despite being less than a foot away from him. He couldn't find it in him argue or fight as Hyojin pulled him away, out the door and down the corridor. The flashing alarm lights seemed much too bright and the blaring sirens much too loud; the white walls were now bathed in red from the lights as he let himself be dragged away to wherever Hyojin was taking him. 

"Where are we going?" His voice came out shaky, he figured he must've been hyperventilating but he couldn't tell. He was somewhat aware that his head had started to hurt but he paid it little mind. Hyojin didn't look at him, just kept his hand firmly and tightly wrapped around his wrist.

"Finding the others." He was offered no other explanation, no further insight into what was going on in his mind. Maybe it was all that was keeping him from panicking.

He was somewhat aware of the sounds of metal scraping against something, the sound of sparks that sounded much too close to his ear. There was a faint scent of smoke and gasoline, though it was difficult to tell whether he was hallucinating or not.

They entered the medbay where they found Yuto and Seungjun together and stumbling in from the other entrance. Vision much clearer now and head no longer spinning, he noted Yuto limping. Hyojin, still holding on much too tight to his wrist (not that he complained, it kept him here, kept him from panicking), he quickly made his way over to them with Minkyun in tow.

"What happened?" Seungjun only spared him a glance before leading Yuto over to sit on one of the empty beds. 

"I dunno, we were just checking the air seals when the explosion went off." Seungjun didn't miss a beat, as if he knew exactly what Hyojin was going to ask next. "I dunno where Jaeyoung and Changyoon. Saw Changyoon a few hours ago in the kitchen area, haven't seen Jaeyoung for a while."

The silence that fell around them was only interrupted by the alarms.

They all jumped when they heard something Minkyun could only describe as screeching; loud and high pitched, bouncing off the walls and making it sound like it came from everywhere at once. Then there was something like a series of thumping, something bumping in the vents as _something_ crawled through them.

It was then that the panic finally started to set in; they were no longer alone on the ship.

Something was coming for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea came up while reading Alien: River of Pain and watching Mark's playthrough of Alien: Isolation from five years ago.
> 
> Also, somewhat related, but with the comeback in a mere few days, I figured an update was in order :D  
> Hope you liked reading this one as much as I liked writing it.


	7. FATE (THE RED STRING)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **TEMPERANCE (REVERSED)** represents imbalance, excess, self-healing, and realignment.

**( act i. BY WAY OF BLACK ROSES** **)**

Seungjun laid in bed, fingers curled gently around a fistful of petals; a few fluttered between his fingers and fell to the floor, but he paid them no mind.

He had spent the better part of the morning in bed and staring at the ceiling, but the longer he spent idle, the more his thoughts seemed to crash into each other until they were a flaming heap of several dozen trainwrecks. 

Slowly, he rolled over onto his side, eying the stupid glaring face of his alarm clock. It almost seemed like it was mocking him, the LED numbers blinking 1:35 pm back at him; an almost cruel reminder of the fact he had a half hour to be out of bed, be ready, and get his ass down to the shop to meet up with the others.

With a heavy sigh, Seungjun sat up and let the flower petals fall out of his hands, scattering on the floor around his feet. He stared down at them, examining them closely for the first time since they started appearing everywhere. They were an inky black, and no bigger than perhaps his pinky nail. He couldn't tell what kind of flower they had originally come from, and if he were being honest, he couldn't care enough to.

They were everywhere; it used to be just in his clothes when they first started appearing. It used to be just in his pockets, he'd shove his hands in his pockets and be met with handfuls of flower petals. But as the days went on, they started appearing everywhere else; in drawers, in cupboards, in shoes, in cups. They were everywhere. 

They weren't always black either either; they used to be red. They first appeared in a dark crimson, resembling the colour of blood. In fact, he mistook it for drops of blood the first time he saw them. They had shifted to a deep purple for a while, though he couldn't be sure when or for how long. They'd shifted to black at some point, the same colour as the void of the night sky. He didn't care enough to notice exactly when they ever shifted colours. 

He was almost sure the colours meant something but he couldn't be bothered to even figure that out; he couldn't even figure out why they were appearing everywhere to start with. Maybe, if he had kept track of when they shifted colours, or when they started to appear, he'd have been able to figure out why they were everywhere.

It was about 1:59 pm when he finally made it to the shop. His eyes met with Minkyun's first, and he was immediately greeted with a bright smile. 

"Took you long enough to get here," he called as Seungjun walked up. He wasn't sure if he caught the eye roll that was thrown his way; if he did, he certainly didn't react. Seungjun was almost sure they were all used to it by this point.

"I'm actually on time, you're all early." he quipped in response, "Besides, we agreed on 2."

"Yeah, but you're also last one here, so therefore, you are late." Hyojin said, walking over from somewhere behind Minkyun. He had a cup in hand, but Seungjun couldn't be bothered to figure out what was inside. 

His hands instinctively went up and into his pockets, immediately freezing as he was met with more petals. He hoped that he was discrete enough for no one to have noticed his reaction, but even if none of the others did, he was almost sure that Hyojin noticed. If anyone had to have noticed, it would've been him.

As they left with their laughter carrying on the wind, Seungjun ignored the flower petals that fell out of his pocket as he brought his hand out to grab the door.

* * *

**( act ii. TO WHERE SUNFLOWERS BLOOM )**

3:48 am.

Hyojin had awoken around 3 and had spent the last 50 minutes sitting in bed, phone in hand and with too much going on.

The notifications from Seungjun texting him had started piling up from the last ten minutes, and he could not be bothered to figure out why his best friend of over a decade was also awake at this ungodly hour of the morning. 

His head hurt. 

But the trek out of his room, down the hall, and into the bathroom seemed daunting and almost much too exhausting for the amount of energy he lacked right this instant. There was a dull yet very irritating ache that felt like it pulsed just behind his eyes. 

The window was open, he must have left it open by accident when he fell asleep earlier. There was a breeze that carried the scent of something sweet in with it; it was faint and flowery, though he could not quite perfectly describe it. His eyes drifted over to the open window. Just outside, a crow sat on a tree branch that hung near the window. It was almost like it was watching him.

That was enough to get him out of bed; closing the window was the first on his 4 am task list. 

Getting something for this headache was the immediate follow up.

Hyojin almost debated on leaving the lights off but the thought of stumbling around in the bathroom in pitch black darkness was not something he wanted to deal with at this hour. The sudden flood of light did not help with the dull pounding in his head but he pushed through it; it wasn't the worse pain he had ever felt.

He took a moment to stare at himself in the mirror; it went without saying that he probably looked exhausted but he figured that's kind of what happens when you suddenly wake up a 3 am after sleeping for about an hour. At this point, he couldn't even remember what it was that woke him up in the first place. He did not recall any dreams, if he had one. Perhaps it was his building headache that woke him up.

It was pointless to try to figure it out, he simply did not have the energy right now to try. He turned to leave, a yawn escaping his lips as he did.

His fingers hovered over the lightswitch for a moment, his eyes finally drifting down to the sink. 

The lights flicked off; Hyojin actively chose to ignore the pink petals that were scattered within.

* * *

**( act iii. TO FLY WITH BIRDS OF PARADISE )**

Flowers often held different meanings, they meant different things when in combination with other flowers. Even different colours within the same type of flowers held differing meanings.

Changyoon didn't miss the bright orange and deep blue petals that had manifested in his cup that morning. 

Bird of Paradise petals; he wasn't certain of that but he was sure enough that if anyone asked, he'd tell them with enough confidence that they wouldn't ask if he was sure. 

He also noticed that they didn't appear as often when the others were around.

How odd it was, he had thought that morning as he twirled the petals between his fingers. He'd be lying if he said he didn't notice the others dealing with the same thing. Petals that appear out of nowhere, they were everywhere almost the same way Minkyun was perpetually covered in fur from all the animals he has around.

There was a lingering ache in his neck from having slept weird the night prior; he largely ignored it in favour of examining the petals. Though, he certainly did not know what the hell there was to examine; they were simply just flower petals. There was not anything particularly special about them, and if there was anything special, he certainly was not going to figure it out by staring at them.

Every flower holds a different meaning.

If only he could figure out what all these flowers meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was gonna be soft and fluffy
> 
> but then it wasn't
> 
> because apparently that's the one thing I can't do
> 
> (what au is this? flower shop au? hanahaki? idk man, it's smth about flowers)  
> ((also, pls ignore that these progressively got shorter as it went on, Idk what I'm doing))


	8. THE END OF FOREVER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Three of Cups:** reunion, celebration, social gatherings
> 
>  **Wheel of Fortune:** change, cycles, inevitability of fate, unexpected events
> 
>  **Hanged Man (reversed):** needless sacrifice, stalling or standstill, fear of sacrifice 
> 
> _minkyun awakes in an unfamiliar place with no recollection of how he got there. all he has to go off of is the numbers burned on his hand and the memories of fire_

_Burning; everything was burning._

_Flames licked at his fingertips, the scorching heat warped the air; somewhere between the thick grey smoke, the sunken eyes of otherwise faceless ghosts stared back at him. They whispered warnings, though they fell on deaf ears, the words never quite reached, distorted and muffled by the sounds of the inferno around him._

_He choked on ashes and smoke, unwillingly picking his way through the burning building (it was a building, right?), ignoring the scorching heat that clawed at his skin._

_Where was he going? There was no visible exit; in fact, it appeared that he was venturing deeper into the blaze. Somewhere between the crackling of the flames around him, the whispers persisted, growing louder in volume as he kept going further._

_His vision was blurred by the heat and smoke, eyes pricked with tears as both stung at them like angry wasps._

_The flames eventually gave way to a small back room, miraculously untouched by the blaze that ate up at everything else around it._

_What was inside the room was even more puzzling than why everything was on fire; there was nothing. It was an empty room, lit by both the fire behind him and what little light there was from the single small window near the ceiling of the room._

_He took a step inside. The door slammed shut behind him, startling him. Spinning on his heel, he was stunned to find that there was no door; he had whirled around to come face to face with a solid wall. The heat from the raging inferno still lingered, though the loud crackling of fire had now died down to near silence. With that now quieted down, the whispers started to increase in volume._

_Screeching and wailing; there were no discernible words that could be made out between the cacophony of noise._

_His vision started to warp. Or perhaps, it was the room itself that started to warp, it was difficult to tell. The walls twisted and warped as if being sucked through a tube or a vacuum, the ground started to shift as if made of sand._

_The piercing wails started to muffle, as if everything were suddenly submerged underwater._

_As everything started to melt away into pools of inky shades of dark blue and grey, the voices all echoed in unison in such a way that made it sound as if there was only a singular voice. It echoed and reverberated in ways that made his head hurt. Their words, too, would fade with the colours._

_He would soon forget that, along with everything else._

* * *

Minkyun awoke to the sound of birds.

He laid in bed for a few moments, all too still as if moving meant everything would collapse in on itself if he had. His head hurt, worsened so by the sunlight that flooded through the all too large window. His eyes naturally narrowed as if it would make the light go away.

The thoughts in his head were like a storm; chaotic and disorderly. There was little purpose to any of them. But the oddest thing was how blurry all his memories were, as if filtered through static and white noise. In fact, even last night's dream which was the most vivid and forefront of his memories was starting to slip away into the void where memories died. 

There was only the lingering smell of smoke, a carry-over from his dream, perhaps. 

Groaning loudly, he finally sat up and got a good look around the room he was in. Was it his? Surely, it had to be if he were sleeping in it. The room itself was simple, plain enough. A desk was situated to his left, opposite to the window where the sun peeked its light into the room. It seemed to be largely empty, save for perhaps a journal that sat atop, closed and lonely. His eyes drifted to the door. 

A part of him half expected it be thrown open.

It didn't. 

In fact, there was no indication that there was anyone else in the house with him; the house was silent. Well, that was assuming he was in a house at all. Following a deep sigh, he finally swung his legs over the side of the bed, throwing off the blanket as his feet met the floor. The coldness of the wood floor sent chills through his body but he quickly disregarded it in favour of his curiosity of the journal.

It had a leather cover, though it was clearly fake as most leatherbound books were; his fingers traced over the intricate design on the cover. It was of a tree with jewels embedded into the trunk. Flipping open to the first page, he was sorely disappointed to find that there was nothing written down. Perhaps it was new, and there hadn't been any chances to write in it yet.

Having sated his curiosity, he turned and made his way to the door. It creaked quietly as he pulled it open. The hall outside of his room was unimpressive; a little table sat across from his room, a vase of colourful flowers sat atop it. To his right was a dead end, so he made his way left then down a flight of stairs; the stairs creaked under his feet as his weight shifted onto them. 

The house around him was unnervingly quiet, the void of life was really throwing him for a loop. But it was clear that there _had_ been people here recently, the dishes were left in the sink and the chairs were left as if someone were in a hurry to leave. Slowly, he picked his way around the kitchen before stopping at the fridge. The thought of food was tempting, enough so that he spent a good two minutes standing there, his fingers drumming against the handle.

He chose not to.

Minkyun slowly picked his way to the living room, finding no one still. 

And then the burning started again. Not in the form of flames, but in the form of a searing pain in his left wrist. It was white hot and it _crawled;_ like flames jumping from one object to another, clinging to it like a frightened child to their parents. The pain only grew, the burning in his wrist became unbearable and the pain climbed up his arm, threatening to climb further to his shoulder.

His vision threatened to give out, blackened at the edges now. His headache earlier was all but forgotten now in the face of a greater pain; it felt as if he had dunked his arm in a bucket of lava then proceeded to throw acid on it. It burned and burned, and if he stared long enough, he could almost see embers flying off his arm and writhing in his veins. 

His foot hit the leg of the table as he collapsed onto the couch, rubbing and scratching at his arm and trying to put out a fire that was not there. The pain from the collision with the table didn't register, there were bigger things to worry about. Last night's dream came back to him in flashes when his vision would blackout, the feeling of choking on smoke came back with them.

Then the world fell away around him again. This time, however, he would not dream of fire.

* * *

Minkyun was awoken by someone shaking him awake. 

Despite his memories only coming through a filter of intense static, he recognized them.

"Dude, did you really sleep all day?"

Changyoon. He gave him an exasperated look, though he did not look the least bit surprised.

Minkyun muttered something in response, incoherent and incomprehensible after having just awoken. The pain from earlier lingered but had died down to pricks, like needles more than flames now. He missed the look Changyoon gave him; an odd mix of curiosity and concern but did not ask, if there was anything he wanted to ask at all. 

He left without saying much else.

Minkyun rubbed his wrist, just enough to pull his sleeve up and reveal a set of numbers burned into his skin.

_12103_

What did they mean? His thoughts were just as chaotic as they were earlier when he woke up the first time, and they confused him more now than they did earlier.

His head snapped up when he heard the clatter of a plate. His gaze landed on the plate of food that was placed on the table in front of him then lifted to meet Hyojin's gaze. Minkyun quickly pulled up his sleeve, hoping that he didn't see; if he did, Minkyun hoped he wouldn't ask.

He didn't ask. Whether it was because he didn't notice or chose not to, Minkyun was not sure but he didn't care enough to ponder the thought for too long.

The others looked at him strangely, he wasn't gonna pretend to ignore that. They had questions, he was sure they did. He wasn't sure why, however, or how he knew they did. Memories faded and slipped away, blurred together in a whirl of muted colours and overlapping noises that were hard to pull apart.

If they did have questions, he did not have answers for them.

* * *

Days passed. Maybe they hadn't, Minkyun wasn't entirely sure anymore.

It wasn't as if he was keeping track, anyway. Sleeping didn't come easy, and when it did, they were filled with banshees and smoke. Always smoke. 

The numbers were a sore reminder of all the things he did not know. Staring down at them now, he was almost sure they were only there to mock him now, holding no real meaning behind them.

It was odd; it was not as if he suddenly developed amnesia. No, that would have been overstating it, there was plenty he did still remember.

But it was as if chunks of his memories were just not there. There were entire missing days, and things he was sure happened but tossed behind a wall of ice and static. Events he was so sure happened but for some reason, could not quite bring up the memories of it.

Most were just gone, like a candle being blown out. 

There was a loud clanging downstairs, like pots and pans tumbling out of a cupboard. He paused, staring at his bedroom door, debating on whether he should go down and check on what was happening.

In his indecision, he failed to notice the silence that followed. He did notice the clicking, however. Clicking, like someone clicking their tongue or perhaps the clicking of gears. Like a ticking clock, except unnaturally much too loud. It was deafening, it filled the whole house.

For a brief moment, he wondered if the sound was only in his head. He had been having odd dreams that started to manifest in his waking hours.

But it was not.

The doorknob turned slowly then stopped, as if whoever was on the other side was debating on coming in.

It swung open, thrown open really.

Seungjun stared back at him, eyes hard. The clicking sound grew louder.

"We have to go."

They did.

The clicking stopped when they left the house. 

"Where are we going?" 

The question was innocent enough, asked in a quiet voice and in a soft tone. It earned him an odd look from Jaeyoung, if only because it was so strange for him to have been so quiet in the first place.

"I dunno." Hyojin answered, with little hesitation. There was a vague feeling of certainty behind his voice, almost as if he actually did know where they were headed.

Minkyun got the feeling they did this often.

"Not all of us are here." 

The silence that followed was enough to tell him why. Or at least, he thought he knew why.

He wanted to ask about the clicking. 

He didn't, the question failing to ever fall past his lips. 

The sky was an odd shade of orange. At first, he simply chalked it up to the sunset. Then he realized it was the middle of the day; there should have been no sunset.

The others noticed too, eyes drifting from the road to the sky, then to the horizon.

Fire. It was fire. Everything was on fire.

Just like in his dream.

He was not prepared for the screaming; it sounded like the wailing in his dream.

Had it even been a dream at all? He wasn't entirely sure anymore. 

As his eyes followed the growing inferno, he couldn't help but let them trail the smoke that it produced; it moved like storm clouds. If he didn't know any better, he might have mistaken them for such.

His wrist burned again, but this time, it was not nearly as intense. It was no more than a bad stinging pain, almost like getting stung by a bee, maybe.

The numbers glowed. 

The others noticed.

Around them, everything burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one turned out longer than I thought it would be so I decided to split it into two chapters :D  
> No I have not started writing the next part yet, but I'm gonna go start as soon as this is posted so


	9. THE BEGINNING OF INFINITY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _numbers and fire._   
>  _minkyun wishes he had more answers; but he doesn't, all he has are numbers burned into his skin, the memories of fire, and too many goddamn questions._

Time is an odd concept, it slipped away like sand between his fingers.

Except if the sand moved like boiling water. That is, it moved slowly and only moved faster when you weren't paying attention.

After leaving the house, it would be hours before they got to where they were going. He barely paid attention to the new place, smaller and less spacious than the previous house they had been in. But only because it was more crowded now, random objects scattered everywhere. 

Minkyun sat at the kitchen table, eyes scanned the map that laid spread atop it.

Why did they need a map again? He was sure he knew the reason but it slipped away into the same white noise with everything else.

He kept playing with his sleeve; there was an itchy feeling, almost like something was crawling all over him. 

He hated it. All of it. Not that there was any reason he should, there was no real reason he should so vehemently hate a feeling. Well, that's what he told himself, anyway. There was reason to, he just didn't like the feeling, the dark and stormy feeling.

Hatred. That was not something he felt too often, if at all.

"Are you okay?" 

Hyojin's voice was quiet, much too soft for all the burning anxiety he had stored away in his gut. The look in his eyes must've been intense, must have betrayed the whirlwind of feelings that was boiling over now.

"Haven't been for a while but I think I can deal." 

The look of suspicion was not missed; but whatever he said in response was lost. Minkyun's ears were filled with ringing, like bells; lots of small bells in the wind. Bells. Why bells? What-?

The world shifted. It changed as quickly as he blinked; one moment, he was in the room with the others. The next? He stood on the edge of a volcano, staring into bubbling lava, a sea of heat and giant spiking stones that melted into liquid fire. The bells kept ringing, it was much more frantic now like they were in a panic, trying to warn him of something. If there was a warning, it was lost on him amongst the discordant ringing.

It was hard to breathe, the growing sense of sheer panic was suffocating. Why? 

Images flashed but they were nonsensical at best; an expanse of forest stretching far past the horizon, the image of a corpse with its mouth hanging open, its eyes milky white and staring right through him, light filtering through the darkness of water, storm clouds rolling in much too quickly for it to be natural, an outstretched hand coming closer to wrapping around his throat. 

Then everything flashed white. 

Then it faded to black.

All that was left as he succumbed to unconsciousness was the feeling of burning panic.

* * *

Minkyun was growing accustomed now to waking up with a pounding headache. 

It was irritating at first, but a mild inconvenience now more than anything. 

His eyes slowly opened, squinting as the room melted into view. He was in the living room, on the couch; there probably wasn't enough rooms. Either that or the others couldn't have been bothered to drag his ass all the way to a room. It might as well have been both options; not that it mattered, he was not in the position to complain and he did not care enough to.

There was food placed on the coffee table, neatly packed into a little tupperware box, awaiting for him to pick it up. Minkyun didn't have much of an appetite right now, he hadn't had much of an appetite since waking up that first morning. 

For a brief moment, he could've sworn that it had been silent when he awoken. It was confounding; the soft melody being played on a piano drifted through the house.

They didn't have a piano.

Had it been playing over a stereo? Did they have one of those either? 

There was a sort of static quality to it; it must have been playing over a speaker. 

Static. Stupid, stupid static. White noise; the same noise that played through his head, ripping away access to key memories, of which he knew would help ease the confusion that plagued him, mixed in with the sheer dread that frosted over the burning anxiety in his gut. 

He blinked rapidly; suddenly, everything was too overwhelming. The light was much too bright now, what little sounds there were was much too loud, and suddenly his eyes stung. Stinging; _burning_. Always _burning_.

Had it always been this hot?

Crackling. 

Minkyun's eyes darted to the small fireplace. It wasn't lit. But there was smoke. Had they used it recently? Surely they hadn't, it was already much too hot for it. The air felt heavy, holding all too much heat for it to be comfortable to breathe.

Footsteps; the floors creaked as footsteps slowly made their way up behind him.

He couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? 

There was breathing, soft breathing that brushed the back of his neck, all too cool now compared to the overbearing heat that . . . . it was getting hotter. 

A hand gently clasped around his left wrist. Right over the numbers. They ached and pulsed; burned and crawled. It was far too uncomfortable. The breathing stopped. The hand fell away. The temperature slowly dropped back to something more bearable.

For half a second, he was convinced it was over.

But then the smell hit. It was nauseating; there was the sickening stench of something rotten; sour and very _dead_. Slowly, he turned. He didn't want to. Somehow, part of him knew exactly what he was going to find. He knew and he looked anyway.

A corpse. The same one he saw staring at him earlier in the flashes of images. Its mouth hung open in an eternal silent scream, a hand outstretched towards him. Its eyes were glassy, pure white and yet, stared right into him. It wore tattered and shredded clothes, though it was hardly clothing. It might have been a dress at some point. But now, it looked like nothing more than a torn cloth. 

The world around them fell into an unnatural stillness; the silence was overwhelming, it was almost as if they were suddenly in a void.

He blinked.

The corpse went up in flames.

As everything faded to black, all that lingered was the smell of smoke and rotting flesh.

* * *

12103

They meant something.

They-

Someone was shaking him awake.

He struggled to open his eyes. It was almost as if he were waking from an exceptionally long sleep.

He was on the floor. Seungjun was sitting next to him, he was the first one in Minkyun's line of sight. Just behind him, he spotted Yuto and Hyojin standing over Seungjun's shoulder. 

"Is he alright?"

Changyoon. He must've gotten here while he was . . . what just happened?

"I dunno, he's waking up. I think." 

Was it a date? A combination for a lock? Or-

"He seems really out of it, should we take him to-?"

"Don't finish that question." 

Seungjun's voice held a lot more. . . .anger than what Minkyun was used to hearing from him. He blinked a few times then up to meet the other boy's gaze. The world slowed. Everything he just saw felt like a fever dream.

Well, maybe _just_ a dream. It _was_ a dream. Right? Surely, it couldn't have been-

"We need to go. We need to find . . . find _him_."

Speaking made his throat hurt. Too dry. Like he inhaled a bunch of sawdust. 

Like he had inhaled smoke.

There was a grim silence. He heard someone take a deep breath. Somewhere in the background, he heard footsteps. Then a door open. Then it slammed shut. The whispers of a promise to never go back to . . . to _him_ played on loop, muffled and distorted by a radio filter. 

But Minkyun knew things, things that only _he_ could help with. Minkyun had too many questions and very few answers, and every single one only gave way to a plethora of new questions in their place. 

His head hurt. It always hurt nowadays.

Minkyun only knew of one person who could help answer many of those questions. Why this person was the only vivid figure in the murky depths of his hazy memories was something that led to more questions. 

It was stupid. Going back would mean death. It would mean walking right back into the blaze they had all narrowly escaped from the first time.

But what choice did they have?

In his ears, a single voice rasped a warning. But it spoke much too fast in a language he could not understand. He did, however, understand exactly one thing out of the voice's incessant muttering.

 _Ignis_.

 ** _Fire_**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what if I make a whole fic out of this au  
> (I ask if I have a solid plot for this but alas)


End file.
